13. It's Really a Misunderstanding, I Told You It's Supplements
13. It's Really a Misunderstanding, I Told You It's Supplements
13. It's Really a Misunderstanding, I Told You It's Supplements
Red blood seeping from a mouth, staining a white medical gown.
A patient hurriedly pulling out medicine and swallowing it.
And if they even go so far as to say, "There isn't much time left..."?
Anyone would think they were talking about their lifespan.
I hastily clarified the situation to Shin Si-hwa.
"It's a misunderstanding, Ms. Shin."
"...Are you saying I misunderstood, student?"
"Yes, that's right."
I was thrown off for a moment, but I calmly began to explain.
"This is actually a nutritional supplement. I'm supposed to take it at a set time every day."
"Ah... a supplement..."
"Yes, a nutritional supplement. I was asleep and just missed the timing, that's all."
"Ahh... right..."
Shin Si-hwa really was a professional.
We'd only met today, but she didn't seem to be misreading this absurd situation.
I knew she wasn't a teacher at the Hero Academy for nothing.
So why are you looking at me like that, all uneasy?
Shin Si-hwa was staring blankly into space.
"So that's how it is... Supplements..."
"Ms. Shin?"
You do understand me correctly, right?
I wanted to ask directly, but the words wouldn't leave my lips.
No, anyone could see she didn't believe a word of it.
It looked like a morning drama was already playing out in her head.
Even if my lifespan did get cut short, that's really not what this is.
Just as Shin Si-hwa's misunderstanding was deepening, a face popped out from beside her.
"Huh, what? You're awake? And the teacher's here too."
"Oh, long time no see."
I waved to show my enthusiasm.
The owner of the lively voice was Yu Ha-yeon.
Judging by the order of events, it seemed Shin Si-hwa had arrived first after the closing homeroom session.
Yu Ha-yeon's gaze landed on the red stain soaking my patient gown.
"Th-that...!! Could it be..."
"No, it's not that. This is definitely not blood. Don't yell."
"That is totally blood...!!"
Shit, I'm screwed.
I'd really hoped Yu Ha-yeon wouldn't find out.
If she ever got the idea that I was sick, she'd become insufferably overbearing.
Yu Ha-yeon lunged at me, trying to tackle me onto the bed.
"Where are you hurt to bleed like this...!? Who did it? Was it Na Yu-na? That bitch, I'll..."
"I'm telling you it's not that...! Let go and listen...! Ah, ah. You're ripping it...!"
Honestly, I think Yu Ha-yeon is a caveman who doesn't know how buttons work.
You can just slip it off to the side.
And why is she even trying to undress me in the first place? I couldn't understand that either.
At this point, no more words were going to get through to Yu Ha-yeon.
I decided to signal for help with my eyes.
'Please help me, Ms. Shin.'
She still seemed lost in her delusion, but as the situation grew louder, she appeared to snap back to reality.
Please, save me here.
Blink, blink.
I sent her my most fervent SOS signal.
Shin Si-hwa read my expression and began to open her firmly shut mouth.
"S-stop that. Yu Ha-yeon, student! It isn't what you think it is...!"
The effect wasn't bad.
Yu Ha-yeon's grip on my sleeve slowly loosened.
"Not what I think. What does that mean?"
Yu Ha-yeon tilted her head and looked at Shin Si-hwa.
Was she saying Han Si-jun wasn't sick?
Even though he'd bled like this?
It was a question demanding an explanation.
Shin Si-hwa glanced at my eyes briefly, then gave a firm nod as if she'd made a decision.
"Th-that's right. Han Si-jun isn't... sick at all...!"
A shocking lie.
Then what in the world was this blood?
Shin Si-hwa continued her explanation.
"That isn't blood. It's... it's tomato juice... that I spilled..."
Shin Si-hwa wore an expression of barely contained sorrow.
Something.
Something had gone horribly wrong here.
But in that moment, I couldn't say a single word.
"Really? You're really not sick?"
If it ever came out that I'd been unwell, she'd try to send me back home no matter what it took.
Shin Si-hwa was just playing along with my lie.
Though her thoughts seemed to be headed in a very different direction.
I spoke as if nothing had ever happened.
"...Of course. When have you ever seen me get sick? The teacher just made a mistake and spilled some juice."
"Herk...!"
As soon as I finished, Shin Si-hwa covered her mouth with her hand.
Like she was desperately trying to hold back her sorrow.
I'm not sure what we looked like through her eyes, but I really didn't want to think about it.
It felt like no explanation would get through anyway.
She'd already reached the realm of absolute certainty.
"It was tomato juice...!"
Finally, Yu Ha-yeon smiled brightly.
Good thing she has chronic rhinitis and can't smell the blood.
Yeah, you're much better off smiling like that.
But more importantly.
"Can you go out for a bit? I need to change clothes."
"Ah."
The patient gown soaked in blood.
I needed to change before I could go outside.
***
"Well then, Ms. Shin, we'll be heading out now."
"Y-yes. Take care getting back..."
The two students said goodbye to me, their teacher, and headed for the door of the infirmary.
"You haven't checked out the school yet, right? The cafe here is seriously amazing! Let's go together!"
"...Too much trouble."
"No backtalk, just follow...!"
The male student was dragged away by the female student, practically being towed out of the room.
Those two had grown up together since childhood—what people commonly called childhood friends.
They knew each other better than anyone.
That was their relationship.
Bang.
The moment they left and the door closed, my body collapsed to the floor like a marionette whose strings had been cut.
Tiny, sorrowful tears spilled from my eyes.
"How could he... at such a young age..."
During class, I'd received the news that a student had lost consciousness.
His name was Han Si-jun.
I'd seen him during the interview. A frail-looking student.
Something about him had stuck in my mind.
I'd been told his injuries weren't major, but that his stamina had dropped and he was taken to rest.
I'd also been shocked to learn that Han Si-jun's opponent in the duel was Na Yu-na.
'He even had a slight upper hand against Na Yu-na?'
His stats were nothing special, but he had one hell of a punch.
Rumor had it he could use magic power even without a mana core, so his unique ability must involve something special.
I'd thought he was a student with a promising future.
But what Han Si-jun said in the infirmary was shocking.
'There isn't much time left...'
Han Si-jun muttered to himself as he spat up blood and swallowed a pill.
His tone sounded like that of a person who knew exactly when they were going to die.
I felt my heart drop into my stomach.
What hurt even more was Han Si-jun's lie.
'Oh, this is just a nutritional supplement.'
Han Si-jun spoke as calmly as if nothing had happened.
How many such lies must he have told, to seem so at peace?
He hadn't been given the future that the rest of us take for granted.
I wanted to ask him what illness he had, but I could already guess the cause.
The congenital absence of a mana core.
The resulting heart disease.
The blood he spat from his mouth was proof of that.
It was just then.
Into that moment walked the one person who must never discover he was terminally ill.
'This is blood...!!'
What do I do.
He wouldn't want anyone to know he was terminally ill.
Han Si-jun threw me a pleading, pitiful look.
'Please, save me.'
Don't tell her.
Please, don't let his childhood friend catch on that he is dying.
'It's... it's tomato juice that I spilled...'
The truth is I didn't spill any tomato juice.
That was all Han Si-jun's blood.
Telling that lie felt like countless spears were stabbing at my conscience.
But an even sadder truth was the lie he told himself.
'...Of course. When have you ever seen me get sick?'
He said he wasn't sick at all.
The expression he wore as he spoke to his childhood friend was so fleetingly bright, it was heartbreaking.
A student with such a sad story.
For the time he had left, there was nothing I could do.
I am a truly useless teacher.
"What am I supposed to do..."
For the little time he had left.
For Yu Ha-yeon, who would be devastated by the truth.
She began to agonize over what to do.
***
The red light of the sun streamed in through the window.
A crimson sunset.
It lit the way wherever we walked.
Anyway.
"You know what my unique ability is, right?"
"You get stronger for a little while, right? Like a power boost?"
"...So you do know."
But she didn't seem to know about the cost.
I must have covered it up well in the parts she didn't remember.
I walked along beside Yu Ha-yeon like that.
The problem was that our destination was a cafe.
"Do we really have to go to a cafe today? I'm tired."
"Cafes are best visited every day. They're always fun and exciting. The school nurse told me all about how you just fell asleep because you were sleepy~"
...I was actually sick, though.
Do you know what it feels like to have a mana core form inside you and then vanish?
She'll probably never know in her whole life.
I clicked my tongue and answered Yu Ha-yeon, who was humming along excitedly.
"...Just today. I'm absolutely not going next time."
"Really? We're going! No takebacks!"
Hmm-hm-hm~
Yu Ha-yeon was so happy she was humming a tune.
In the end, I was fated to be dragged along by her.
I just don't get why she likes cafes so much.
Can't you just brew some Maxim instant coffee at home?
Cafes are such a waste of money.
I don't think I'll ever understand it as long as I live.
Yu Ha-yeon spoke to me then, as if she were a teacher.
"If a cafe was boring, it's because the person you went with was boring. It's a people problem, not a place problem."
"But I've gone with you more than anyone."
"...Maybe cafes aren't the problem, then."
Heh heh.
I snickered at Yu Ha-yeon.
I just hate cafes, full stop.
As an extreme extrovert, Yu Ha-yeon seemed incapable of understanding my position.
"Hey."
Just as I was directing my mocking laughter at Yu Ha-yeon, another voice slipped between us.
I turned my head to identify the source of the voice.
"...Na Yu-na?"
"Hi. Looks like you're awake."
I'm awake, sure, but what does she want?
Did she come to answer my offer of friendship?
Unlike earlier, Na Yu-na had a butterfly pin in the back of her hair.
Yu Ha-yeon immediately went on guard against her.
"Hold on, why are you looking for Si-jun?"
A situation where the loser comes looking for the winner to complain.
Maybe Yu Ha-yeon had misread the situation, because she seemed completely on edge.
I told Yu Ha-yeon it was fine, then asked Na Yu-na.
"What's your business here? I doubt you just came looking for me for no reason."
"Right, right!"
Pfft.
The sound of a little steam being let out.
Na Yu-na answered me with a slight smile.
"You said you wanted to be friends with me. I came to give you my answer."
"Wh-what...!? Friends...!?"
Yu Ha-yeon started looking back and forth between Na Yu-na and me.
Friends.
That word might be lightweight to Yu Ha-yeon, but it meant something different to me.
I smiled back at Na Yu-na and answered.
"Shall we go talk about it at a cafe?"
Today's cafe trip might turn out to be a lot noisier than usual.